Egg carton



D. LEVKOFF May 7, 1963 EGG CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 27, 1961 INVENTOR Dclvid Levkoff BY M. wv, /zmQ/fy ATTORNEYS D. LEVKOFF EGG CARTON May 7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR David Levkoff BY 77m', M, www2/4;@

Filed June 27, 1961 ATTORNEYS United States Patent() 3,088,649 EGG CARTON David Levkoff, 36 Barstow Road, Great Neck, N.Y. Filed June 27, 1961, Ser. No. 119,986 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-28) This invention relates to egg cartons and, more particularly, to a single-piece egg carton characterized by a structure which maintains the egg-supporting bottom wall of the carton above the plane on which the carton rests.

In the design of an egg carton structure, every eiort is made to cradle each egg so as to protect it in storage and in transit. Under normal conditions, the greatest protection is required at the bottom of the egg and many structures have been devised to provide that protection.

I have now devised an egg carton structure which gives maximum cradling support to the bottom of each egg in a carton and which nevertheless is of simple construction amenable to assembly and set-up in automatic machinery. In the egg carton structure of my invention, the bottom wall of the carton is completely supported above the plane on which the carton rests. This result is achieved by gluing together the portions of a singlepiece carton blank which form the longitudinal central partition of the carton and by gluing together a bottom rail panel and the lower portion of the adjacent side wall panel. By suspending a bottom wall panel from the lower edge of the glued central partition and from the upper edge of each bottom rail panel, the bottom wall of the carton is maintained in a plane above that on which the carton rests and the side walls are rigidly interconnected so as to give strength to the carton in its set-up condition. Accordingly, my improvement in an egg carton structure comprises a bottom rail panel integrally connected to the bottom edge of each side wall and to the adjacent side edge of the bottom wall and adhesively secured to the lower inside surface of the side wall. The bottom wall in my novel structure is formed of two panels joined centrally along the longitudinal center thereof by two upstanding central partition panels adhesively secured to one another so as to prevent the bottom panels from sagging at their junction along the longitudinal center line of the carton.

These and other novel features of the structure of my invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the blank from which the carton is assembled;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the assembled carton in its nearly flat folded condition;

FIG. 3 is 4a partial end view in perspective of the carton in its partly set-up condition; and

FiG. 4 is a partial end view in perspective of the carton in its fully set-up condition.

The egg carton blank shown in FlG. 1 comprises a single piece from which all portions of the carton are formed. Beginning at the left Side of the blank, it 'will be seen that it comprises a tuck-appanel connected along a fold line 11 to a cover panel 12. The cover panel is joined along a fold line 13 to a first side wall panel 14 which, in turn, is joined along a fold line 15 to a irst bottom rail panel 16. This rail panel is connected along fold line 17 to a rst bottom panel 18 which is joined by a fold line 19 to a first longitudinal central partition panel 20. Then beginning with the next fold line 21, the sequence of panels is reversed by a second longitudinal central partition panel 22, a fold line 23, a second bottom panel 24, a fold line 25, a second bottom rail panel 26, a fold line 27 and a second side wall panel 28. Joined 3,088,649 Patented May 7, 1963 ICC to the second side wall panel by a fold line 29 is a p transverse partition panel 30 provided with a central fold line 31. The extremity of the transverse partition panel is connected along a iinal fold line 32 to a glue iiap panel 33.

The blank is glued and folded as follows:

Referring lto FIG. 1, glue is applied to the outboard portion of the under surface of the longitudinal central partition panel 20 and the two substantially symmetrical halves of the blank are folded downwardly about the fold line 21. The two central partition panels 20 and 22 are thus glued to one another. Then glue is applied to the second bottom rail panel 26 and the right hand portion of the blank is folded upwardly about the fold line 27 so as to glue together the second bottom rail panel 26 and the lower portion of the second side wall panel 28. The outer right hand portion of the blank is then folded about the fold line 31 so that the projecting top ridge of the longitudinal central panel, including the projections formed by the arcuate cut lines 34 interposed in the central partition fold line 21, extend through cutline openings 35 interposed in the fold line 31 in the center of the transverse partition panel 30. The longitudinal central partition is thus locked in position in engagement with the center of the transverse partition panel 30. The under surface of the glue flap 33 and the top surface of the rst bottom rail panel 16 are then glued and the left side of the blank is folded upwardly about the fold line 15. In this last operation, the first bottom rail panel 16 is secured to the lowermost portion of the first side wall panel 14 and the glue flap 33 is secured to an upper portion of the same side wall panel 14.

The resulting assembled egg carton, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is composed essentially, in serially arranged order, of a tuck-flap 10, a cover 12, a rst side wall 14 and a rst bottom rail panel 16 adhesively secured to the lower inner portion of the first side wall. The first bottom wall panel 18 extends from the top of the first bottom rail panel 16 to the lower edge of the junction of the two longitudinal central partition panels 20 and 22 which are adhesively secu-red together face to face. The second 4bottom wall panel 24 extends from the aforementioned junction of the central partition panels to the top of the second bottom rail panel 26 which is adhesively secured to the inner lower portion of the second side wall 28. The transverse partition panel 30 extends from the top edge of the second side wall 28 to an opposite level on the inner surface of the tirst side wall where the glue flap 33 is secured. The additional height of the first side wall 14, .the upward extension of the longitudinal central partition land the depth of the tuck-liap 10 cooperate to maintain the cover 12 at a level spaced above the .tops of eggs when positioned in the carton. The transverse partition sections, being folded downwardly into the carton provide the end walls of the carton as well as the necessary transverse partitions between eggs in each of the two rows of receptacles for the eggs.

As can be most readily appreciated by reference to the end view of the set-up carton, the bottom rails glued to the lowermost portions of the side walls holds the sides of the bottom -wall at a level above that on which the 'bottoms rails rest and the gluing together of the two longitudinal central partition panels prevents separation of these panels which would otherwise permit the central portion of the bottom wall to sag. Thus, the bottom wall is firmly suported at its desired level above the plane on which the carton rests so that even when the bottoms of the eggs protrude through pocket aps 36 in the bottom wall panels as they seek their optimum support level, they are nevertheless held well above the plane on which the carton rests. This structure permits one to press upwardly on the thus-projecting bottom of the egg to move it upwardly so that its top can be grasped to remove it from the carton. In addition, the reinforcement of the carton structure by the gluing along the bottom rails andrbetween the longitudinal central partition panels so strengthens the carton that it can be made of lighter grade paper boafrd than egg cartons presently on the market.

I claim:

A one-piece egg carton composed essentially in serially arranged order of a tuck-flap, a cover panel, a rst side wall panel, a first bottom rail panel folded upwardly in adhesive engagement with the lowei inner portion of `the rst side wall, a rst bottom panel, a rst longitudinal central partition panel, a second longitudinal central partition panel substantially coextensive with and adhesively secured to the rst central partition panel, a second bottom panel, a second bottom rail panel, a second side wall panel `the lower portion of which is adhesively secured to the second bottom rail panel, a transverse partition panel provided with cut and fold Ilines adapted to define a plurality of transverse partition sections capable of being folded downwardly into the space between the side Wall panels and longitudinal central partition, the portions of )the bottom panels adjacent the lower edges of the downwardly folded transverse partition sections being imper-forate, and a glue apadhesively secured to the inner surface ofthe first side Wall panel, the bottom edges of said rst and second longitudinal central partition panels being essentially `coterminous with the centrally. disposed edges of' said first and second bottom panels.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,614,997 Scotcher Jan. 18, 1927 1,972,622 Goodyear Sept. 4, 1934 2,092,148 Berglund` Sept. 7, 1937 2,387,314 Cox Oct. 23, 1945 

